False Face
by Rainne
Summary: Holly must rescue a changeling in America. What's this got to do w Artemis II? You'll find out, if you read and review. Edited and re-edited chapter 4 up, thanks for the heads up, Radioactive Bubblegum!
1. A rescue mission

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that looks familiar, just my own characters, and the rest is the delightful Eoin Colfer's. (By the way, if anyone knows exactly how to pronounce that vowel-laden first name of his, leave it in the review. Thanks!)  
  
A/N: Wow, you know, I always wanted to do an Artemis Fowl fic, just never got a good enough idea. I think this will turn out okay though, as long as I don't screw it up. 50/50 chance, really. Oh well, read, enjoy, and hopefully review!  
  
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"With choice, there comes power. With power, there comes responsibility."  
  
LEPrecon Captain Holly Short made her way through the busy byways of Haven to the station. What was that Mud Man saying? Another day, another dollar, yes, that was it. And that saying precisely described Holly's feelings that particular morning as she entered. Nothing new, everything routine, another day at the office. Wonderful. She supposed she should be grateful for the lull, what with the seemingly nonstop excitement of the last year, but it simply wasn't in her nature. This malaise of normalcy was becoming nearly unbearable to her, and if there was one thing Holly Short was not, it was a creature of routine. So it was a good thing this normalcy's days were numbered, and she wouldn't have to go on missing certain Mud Men who made her life so much more interesting for much longer.  
  
"Holly," a new intern, a young elf named Caesar, greeted her as he fell in step with the superior officer, "Commander Root wants to see you in his office now, and he said it was important, and he said- what was it?" the rookie racked his brains momentarily, "He said, 'If Short's not in here within thirty seconds of her arrival, I'll not only have her badge, but I'll let you rid a hotshot without a transport.'" The young elf smiled like the proud puppy he was at remembering every word of his master's order.  
  
"Very good, Caesar," Holly said, not so gently patronizing the intern, "More good work like that and you'll get an extra tasty biscuit from Commander Root." She upped her pace, leaving Caesar to puzzle over her meaning in the lobby.  
  
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"You really shouldn't threaten the interns like that," Holly chastised her beet-faced commanding officer as she sat down on one of his office's chairs, "Their parents pay good donations to make their spawn part of the LEP."  
  
"I don't wanna hear it, Short, we've got bigger fish to fry. I've got a new assignment for you, something you may find more interesting than goblin gangs and digging violations in the dwarf sector." He tossed a case file to her from behind his desk and watched her scan it.  
  
Holly sat up straighter as she took a better look, her flashing eyes incredulous as she sent a piercing gaze over the file's edge at Root, "Is this what I think it is?" Her question was spoken like a statement, which it was, she had no reason to question the case file.  
  
"You bet your last Neutrino it is," Root said solemnly, "A changeling."  
  
Holly shuddered at the word, "But I didn't think that kind of thing happened anymore?" A changeling; a fairy child who replaces a human one, which is taken by fairies as a kind of pet. A popular practice centuries ago when Mud Men and the People were on much better terms, any terms at all, to be precise. Now even the thought of it was distasteful at best, due to the obvious question of who would want a Mud baby?  
  
"You're wrong, it does happen and it apparently has. You and a team of my choosing are on a rescue mission as of three days from now. You'll get all the information you need from Foaly and the file. You'll report to him three days from now and you and your team will be a go. I should tell you though; you don't have a lot of time, see-"  
  
Holly's ears pricked up, "Me and MY team? Am I to assume by this alleged 'MY' that I'll be in command of this team?"  
  
"Don't get too excited, Short, keep your skirt on," Root absently shuffled some loose papers on his desk, obviously wishing she'd go away.  
  
Holly grinned wryly but said nothing and left the commander to his work, the best way for her to show her gratitude. Needless to say, Holly's cloudy mood was significantly altered for the remainder of the day.  
  
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Aldonza Morgan stood on the porch of her home, eyeing the car warily and dreading the ride to come. She knew it wouldn't be all bad, she and her family were going to her favorite place after all, but car rides were becoming increasingly uncomfortable. She couldn't understand it, and after repeated interrogation of her parents and grandparents she was certain she'd never been prone to car sickness before. And besides that, it didn't feel like car sickness exactly, which she assumed to be just nausea. This was different, like a kind of claustrophobia mixed with the nausea, plus chills and headaches that made her want to leap from the vehicle after forty five minutes of riding or less.  
  
"Allie, come or we'll be late!" her mother, June, called as she carried a large, hand-woven basket with ribbons and other supplies nearly spilling out to the car, the beads that hung off her skirt and in her long, curly hair swinging.  
  
"Yes, April bug," her father, Thomas, said as he passed her on the porch, calling her by the nickname she'd heard all her life. He had a habit of calling his wife June bug, and since Aldonza had been born in April, he called his daughter April bug, "You wouldn't want to miss the festivities, would you?" He too carried a basket of supplies, along with some Tupperware containers of food. The delightful aromas issuing from the clear plastic led Aldonza by her nose to the car.  
  
She gingerly lowered herself into the backseat. Even though she hadn't closed the car door yet she could feel the nausea creeping around her lower intestine. She swallowed and took a deep breath, her brain reminding her before she could quiet it that it would be the last bit of fresh air she'd get for the next hour and a half. Aldonza tried to focus on the fresh, green trees that surrounded her family's small home. They always made her feel calmer, and she could almost fool herself into believing they actually were trying their hardest to make her feel better.  
  
June turned around in the driver's seat and watched Aldonza with a look of concern written on her round face, "I know you haven't been feeling well, April bug, but try not to get down about it. We're going to the festival, to visit all our friends, Mary and Bud and Wind. Sunbeam's twins will be there, you know they've missed you like crazy." She smiled warmly, but Aldonza didn't see it. She was still gazing out into the forest, and June tried to ignore the look of longing in the girl's copper-colored eyes. She turned to Thomas, "Are we ready to go?"  
  
"Yes, we've got the bags, the food, the stones, the candles, the ribbons- if there's anything we forgot, I guess we weren't meant to bring it." He smiled his relaxed, unconcerned smile and June started the car.  
  
Aldonza squeezed her eyes shut as the engine came to life, making the metal prison shudder like a living thing, and they were off. The car took them up the unpaved hill that led to her house and they turned onto the road that ran parallel to some cornfields. Aldonza was glad she'd chosen the side of the car that ran along the line of trees that marked the forest. As their greenery slipped by her window, she leaned her head against the shatterproof glass and tried to imagine she wasn't in the car, but in the heart of that forest surrounded by green and brown. She imagined she was nestled in the roots of an ancient oak, listening to the burbles of a nearby stream, watching the stream as its cool, clear water flowed over multi-colored stones. The air was warm, but a breeze blew across her face every now and again, keeping her cool. The sun trickled, green-tinged, through the leaves and fell in golden pools on the forest floor. All was quiet, all was still except the flow of the stream, and that was how it should be.  
  
"Watch out, June!" Thomas cried out as a massive truck swerved back into its lane. June jerked the wheel to avoid the other drifting vehicle, sending their car to the side of the road and screeching to a stop. All three passengers were thrown forward and slammed back into their seats in an instant.  
  
"Is everyone okay? Is everyone okay?!" June was shouting frantically.  
  
"We're fine, June bug," Thomas was saying, trying to calm down his near-hysterical wife, "Everything's alright, right, Allie?"  
  
But Aldonza wasn't listening. The fragile fantasy she'd been using to keep herself calm had shattered and the sickness had fallen on her like a bucket of ice water. The symptoms seemed ten times stronger than ever, so bad all the deep breathing in the world couldn't stop Aldonza from wrenching open the door and bolting from the vehicle.  
  
Leaving June and Thomas to call in vain and confusion, Aldonza stumbled into the small swatch of grass beside the shoulder of the road before the cornfields. The world rocked as if Atlas was spinning it on his finger instead of carrying it on his back, pain sliced through her head, and her shaky knees gave out so she was sitting in the grass. She sucked in breath after breath of fresh air, to no avail as her stomach spasmed and her breakfast was issued onto the grass. After she was beyond sure she had no food left in her stomach, Aldonza slumped to one side until she was lying flat, and her heart slowly stopped its fevered pounding as the pain in her head finally retreated.  
  
"April bug?" she heard June say from somewhere nearby, "Are you okay?"  
  
Yeah, just peachy, Aldonza wanted to respond, but she pushed it away, "In a minute, Mom, I'll be fine in a minute." She gazed up at the bright blue sky; a few black birds flitted past.  
  
"Okay, sweetie, I'll let you center yourself." She heard June walk away.  
  
Aldonza sighed and once again wished things could go back to normal, the way they were before she could barely stand the sight of a car, before June's food started tasting bland or not at all, before her face started changing. That was a recent development. Her face seemed to be at war with itself over something she couldn't imagine. Like her chin, always a squarish shape, seemed to want to become a point, but her skull would have none of it. And her nose used to have a small bump at the bridge, but now was as straight as an arrow, narrow and pointed too. June and Thomas hadn't noticed yet, or if they had they hadn't said anything, and Aldonza was glad for that. They were worried enough already with the sudden car sickness, no need to keep them up at night thinking their daughter was turning into someone else.  
  
Aldonza sighed again and pushed herself to her feet. Her upper body felt like a lead weight as she resignedly got back into the car.  
  
"Have you found your peace, honey?" Thomas asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm good, let's go." June smiled and they drove the rest of the way without incident. Well, at least no more vomiting.  
  
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A/N: Okay, that's all for now. There will be more of a backstory for Aldonza and her folks next chapter; this is just kind of an opener. If there are any continuity errors I should know about (I wrote this chapter w/out an AF book handy) please notify me in a review/email, k? And in case you're wondering where our man Artemis comes into this, the answer is you'll find out, though not for a while unfortunately. C ya next chapter! 


	2. Freedom

A/N: Hello again! Wow, thanks for all the great responses, ms. halley bom- bally (that penname sounds familiar, how'd you come up w/ it?), EvilSpirit (wow, thanks a lot for all the pairing suggestions), Neo (to be frank, don't count on it), and chrysgurl. Look, I figured out a title all on my own- well, not ENTIRELY on my own, but SHE knows she helped just like I know she reviewed ^^. Anyways, again, I'm still not positive on a pairing, though I doubt it'll be Artemis/anybody, frankly because I don't wanna open THAT can of worms, i.e "What the hell would Artemis be like in love??" No thanks. I'm surprised nobody suggested Butler/anybody. What, kick ass bodyguards don't need love too? Well, I beg to differ. Keep the lovely reviews a-comin'!  
  
Oh, and before I forget again, stuff in between these those pointy parentheses are thoughts.  
  
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Aldonza finagled her way out of her seat belt and sprang a good five feet from the car the second June hit the brake. Tilting her face to the sun, she twirled until her light, cotton dress puffed out like a bell and the beads that held dozen or so tiny braids in her hair stood on end. Freedom. Thomas and June watched the girl with happy smiles, mistaking her relief for joy at their arrival.  
  
"C'mon, sweetheart," Thomas said after a moment, "We're meeting everyone by the stream." The mature pair began walking across the field in which they'd parked.  
  
Aldonza abruptly stopped spinning and ran to join Thomas and June, "That's where we're meeting? Yes! I love it when we meet there!" She skipped, jogged, and bounced alongside her parents half out of elation of her emancipation from the car and half what Thomas and June had assumed earlier. Aldonza felt if she were any happier she'd simply float off the ground.  
  
Every year on the first warm day of spring the Morgans made the hour and a half trek into the bowels of the near-by nature preserve to celebrate the end of winter, as was the custom for Wiccans. Thomas, June, and several friends from their younger days had stumbled on the little-practiced religion in the sixties and had adhered to its teachings ever since. This meant home-schooling, a vegan diet, and hand-made clothes for little Aldonza. However, the young girl hadn't withered in this isolated upbringing, quite the opposite, actually. She had developed a deep appreciation for all living things and a will of iron. As a result of having nearly no contact with the inflexible, unimagininative outside world, she had very little reason to believe that she couldn't do anything she set her mind to. A blessing and a curse, at times.  
  
"See, Sun?" she called down to the young boy at the base of the towering tree, "Told ya' I could climb up here! But you wouldn't believe me, oh noooo! Pay the man!"  
  
The boy scowled up at the tiny form nearly lost in the highest branches of the tree before turning to the boy identical to him (except he was smiling) and thrusting a quarter into the other's outstretched palm.  
  
"Okay, Allie!" cried the happier of the pair, "We win! Come on down!"  
  
Aldonza was silent a moment, gazing out over the landscape of green the tree's height afforded her, "Nah, Stars, I'll come down later," she replied absently.  
  
"Suit yourself!" Stars said and turned to his twin, "That girl's nuts- "  
  
"She's gonna miss the bonfire," Sun finished. The pair shrugged simultaneously and dashed into the underbrush.  
  
The twins didn't understand what kept Aldonza in the tree's embrace. In all honesty, Aldonza herself didn't much understand it. It was an irresistible peace that drew her, the complete opposite of how she felt in the car. A serenity that enveloped her like a blanket. It was even better if a stream was near, for reasons unfathomable to her. She nestled into the crook of the tree's branches, ignoring the weird lumps on her shoulder blades scraping against the bark, and slipped easily into a light nap. She was undisturbed by the subtle slanting of her eyes or the slight lengthening and narrowing of her fingers.  
  
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Holly's boots made stern, heel-toe beats on the floor of Foaly's office as she strode up the line of fairies that made up her rescue team. she told herself, trying very hard not to lose it on the lot of them, Caesar smiled at her happily as she passed him, completely unfazed by her repeated death glares the other two fairies, the indispensable Grub Trouble, and one she didn't quite recognize but had little doubt was quite irritating, quailed under. The only other officer who didn't look faint was Chix Verbil at the line's end, he looked positively poised.  
  
"Tell me this is NOT MY team, Foaly, NOW."  
  
"Afraid I can't do that, Captain Short, because they are all yours." The centaur didn't even bother turning from his plasma screen to deliver the bad news. The lovely high Holly had been enjoying the past three days rapidly deflated into a black ball of grief.  
  
"Aw, Holly-" Chix said with a nauseating half-smile.  
  
"Captain Short!!" the superior officer screeched.   
  
Thankfully Chix got some form of her message, "Yes, Captain Short! Uh, well, don't feel too bad, it could be worse..."  
  
"Exactly how could it be worse, Private?-"  
  
"Uh," Chix interjected quite bravely, "That's Sergeant now, I got promoted!" He offered her an almost Caesar-like smile, if it weren't for all the arrogance.  
  
Holly hissed the rest of her tirade, "I think I'm getting command of a well-trained, professional rescue team, and what do I get? Root drags the bottom of the LEP Ocean for the greenest, most irritating fairies he can find!"  
  
"Ouch," Grub murmured, and then mumbled something about a complaint.  
  
Holly stood rigid, her eyes squeezed shut and her fists clenching and unclenching, before turning on her heel to Foaly, who'd turned away from his beloved network to watch Holly's most entertaining meltdown. He barely managed to look frightened as she loosed a searing gaze on him.  
  
"Root said you had information to give us," she ground out.  
  
"Uh, yeah, yeah, one sec," Foaly pulled up the screen concerning the changeling rescue, "Okay, subject is a one Morgan, Aldonza, age 160, lives in Virginia with her so-called folks Thomas and June. Home-schooled her whole life, Mud parents are strict hippies who live in almost complete self- sufficiency on the edge of the state's largest nature preserve. You guys don't have a lot of time, spell's wearing off quicker then predicted, but I'm sure Root told you all of that-"  
  
"I'm afraid not," Holly interrupted, wide-eyed, "What do you mean 'the spell's wearing off'? How can it wear off?"  
  
Foaly sighed tiredly, "Trust Julius to slack off on the only details that count... Okay, back in the old days, not many Mud kids lived into adulthood, right? Well, when one was taken, a spell was put on the changeling so it looked human. But the spell wasn't made to last, since the fairies that took the Mud kid figured it was pretty good odds the changeling would die in a few years anyhow. So, as the changeling grew, he or she outgrew the spell. Kid lived long enough; you'd find one very confused family looking at an equally confused fairy who used to be a relative. And that's not even going into the fact that fairies can't survive on the surface for long periods of time anymore-"  
  
"What?" Holly asked incredulously. Her look was mirrored by the rest of the team.  
  
"Seriously, Root didn't tell you this?" He didn't bother waiting for a response, Holly's look was enough, "Here we go, the People will probably never coexist with the humans like they did in the old days. Why not? Because we can't live on the surface anymore. Why not? Because of all the pollution, ozone depletion, acid rain, the list goes on and on, but it all amounts to the fact that it just isn't the same Earth that it was back then. So you'd better get that changeling down here where she'll be safe, before her disguise completely disappears, or the consequences could be serious."  
  
The five team members looked stricken, but Foaly barreled on without pause, "It's a good thing she lives near a forest, or she wouldn't have made it this far. Another bit of luck is she's a sprite, if any kind of fairy was chosen to try to have a normal life on the surface, it'd be them. They can resist all the poisons floating around up there for the longest." Chix managed a smug look; Holly wouldn't expect any less of him.  
  
"So give us a figure, Foaly, how much time do we have?" Holly was growing very tired of bad news.  
  
"I'd say a week, maybe week and a half tops before the spell is in ribbons and her cover's blown," the centaur handed her the information he'd printed out.  
  
"Any particular dangers we should know about?"  
  
"Well, I'd guess whatever sick bunch made the switch in the first place. They probably won't be too happy having you all take away their Mud pet."  
  
"Got it," she turned wearily to her team, "Okay. Well, move out, I guess."  
  
And thus began the less than auspicious beginning of the first changeling rescue mission in two centuries.  
  
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A/N: Ah, nothing satisfies quite like plot development. Except maybe reviews... Just something to think about as you digest my lovely offering of a chapter. Any of it seem implausible? Well, it's really a shame then that I don't care. Hm, I think I've been watching too much Scrubs. 


	3. Climax Number 1

A/N: Sorry for the delay in updates, but I've kidnapped by pirates and forced to do a Pirates of the Caribbean fic, so you see my predicament. But thankfully they've given me a bit of shore leave to reassure my family and friends that I'm alright, be happy that instead I chose to update False Face for my lovely AF fans. To respond to your reviews:  
  
EvilSpirit: I see you partake in the watching of Scrubs as well, how delightful. Thanks for the Butler pairing suggestion, but don't hold your breath. Keep reading, though!  
  
Po-chan: Glad you're for the team, I wasn't sure how that'd pan out. As far as Trouble goes... It's kind of been a while since I read the books, and I'm not confident I'd be able to accurately portray him. So you also should continue breathing normally on that account.  
  
The Reviewer14: Can I count to ten? That's none of your damn business and I'll thank you to stay out of my personal affairs! Just kidding, and extra points if you can guess where that's from, but really, I don't know if your review was a flame or not. So, uh, keep reading I guess, if you like the story...  
  
MysticAngel4: Wow, you reviewed without ever reading the story? That's nice of you, though I'm curious as to how you came to the conclusion that fairies are incapable of romantic feelings. But that's neither here nor there really, because what I really want to do is thank you for the Mary Sue warning, I'll be sure to avoid that death trap. FYI: Aldonza is the actual name of Don Quixote's lady, the peerless Dulcinea del Toboso, and I thought it sounded cool.  
  
I'm actually shocked by the variety of shippers my fic has attracted and I can't please you all unless I make some characters schizophrenic, which doesn't quite work for the canon. I've just about decided on a pairing, which I believe I'll keep to myself for the time being **evil smirk**. All I'll say is, it'll probably make some people unhappy, but that's the price one pays I suppose.  
  
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Holly crouched in the shroud of dark green, her eyes fiercely alert and trained on her subject; the girl by the bonfire. Not a muscle in the fairy's body moved, she was as still as million-year-old stone, which made her school-girl shriek all the more humiliating when Caesar emerged from the darkness beside her.  
  
"Food's ready," he said, utterly unaware of how close Holly came to jamming her Neutrino up his button-shaped nose as he retreated into the LEP blind the team had set up the first night on duty. Holly followed without comment, her throat too seized up in fright, anger, and embarrassment to respond. The thought drifted across her mind that Caesar would do quite well in a stealth unit, but she didn't dare tell him.  
  
"Ah, so return's our fearless leader," Chix jibed over the bubbling pot inside the blind. Caesar took his place beside Grub, waiting for their evening meal.  
  
"Fearless enough to face another night of your cooking," Holly shot back, and then turned to the fourth officer under her command, "What's your report, Private?"  
  
The tiny, even by People standards, elf flinched automatically and turned wide, washed-out lavender eyes on her captain. Not for the first time Holly wondered how such a timid and scatter-shot recruit had made it through training. The private's name was Tulip Yern, and Holly had yet to see a glimmer of strength in her insubstantial body. More out of pity than anything else, Holly put her to the task of monitoring the deterioration of Aldonza's cover "N-nothing too new, ma'am, it's progressing at the expected rate. Her f-face is nearly all sprite; wings and skin should be next, maybe in the next few hours."  
  
Holly frowned, and Tulip ducked her head, as if she was to blame for the bad news. Denying herself a moment of concern over Tulip, Holly announced in a voice intended for all in the blind to hear, "That's it. Grub, send a message to Root, we're not waiting any longer. Suit up, folks, we're bringing her home."  
  
"But what about dinner?" Grub immediately groaned, but Holly's mind was made up. Through Foaly's messages, she'd learned that once Aldonza was completely uncovered, she'd have no more protection against the dangers of the modern surface. The team itself was already beginning to feel its effects, so Holly figured Aldonza wouldn't have much of a chance if they waited until her time was up.  
  
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Aldonza watched the flames of the bonfire leap and dance, a smile easing onto her altered face. She was glad the sun had finally set; the light of it was hurting her eyes as of late. Her gaze drifted to Thomas and June as they busily chatted with friends of old. They were totally wrapped up in their activities, the girl noted as her smile turned sly.  
  
"You got the stuff?" she casually inquired of the woman who had sidled up on her left.  
  
"Kid, have I ever let you down?" the woman responded with a grin of her own.  
  
Still not looking at her, Aldonza responded, "No, I suppose not."  
  
The woman chuckled, a warm bubbling in her throat, "Just don't let your parents catch you with these, and I never will." She passed Aldonza the small package of CDs.  
  
Aldonza palmed the plastic cases and handed over a container of oatmeal cookies as covertly as possible before finally facing her co- conspirator, "So, how ya' been, Sunbeam? How'd you lose the twins?"  
  
Sunbeam's slim face split into a smile. Sunbeam's appearance had always reminded Aldonza of Mia Farrow, from her light voice to her curly hair the color of smooth peanut butter. How she handled such rambunctious boys as Sun and Stars she had no idea. "Oh, I told them they could play in the stream a half hour ago, haven't seen 'em since." The pair laughed together, and then Sunbeam studied her companion for a beat, "You've grown so much since the last time I saw you, Allie, I hardly recognized you."  
  
Aldonza fought a wave of discomfort and her hand flew to her face, fingering her nose and newly-reshaped eyes. Every person she'd met had brought up the topic; all chalking it up to time apart, but only Aldonza knew the truth. Well, not the actual truth, but not far off either. "Yeah, well, what can I say?" she giggled nervously, and wished her parents weren't so intent on catching up with every solitary person at the party. Suddenly she gasped and her shoulders hunched as her body jerked at the twin bursts of piercing pain that sliced up her shoulders.  
  
"Aldonza, sweetie, are you alright?" Sunbeam immediately asked, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. Aldonza looked at the woman, her eyes wide with panic and Sunbeam recoiled as she took in her pain-twisted face, which was steadily turning green, "Whoa, honey, you're not looking too good. I'll go get your parents."  
  
She darted away, leaving Aldonza to face a wave of nausea that sent her to the ground. Her eyes roved over the other party-goers, but no one took notice of her. She looked down at her body to find she was shaking, and with each tremor, growing smaller. The pain in her back was steady, and she could feel something pressing against the inside of her dress, but was distracted by her arms. Some sort of mist was washing over them as they shrunk, and as the mist cleared, her skin was a strange color. The firelight only made it possible to discern a marbled texture to the color, light with darker veins running through it. This phenomenon was occurring on her legs and she assumed her face as well. A ripping sound from behind her announced the formation of her translucent wings, and the sensation proved too much for young Aldonza. She dropped like a sack of bricks.  
  
"Well, at least we didn't have to stun her," said a muffled voice from above her. Then, all was silent.  
  
The LEP rescue team stood over the unconscious sprite, effectively hiding her from sight with their combined shields.  
  
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A/N: And so ends Climax Number 1, hope you all enjoyed it. I may just negotiate a little more time from the pirates, so I can keep working on this; cuz now comes the fun part. Oh, and before I forget, in lieu of actually trying to understand the fairy aging process, I just added a zero onto all actual ages. In case anybody's curious. 


	4. Homecoming

A/N: Blast those evil pirates, I had to turn out another chapter for them when I could've been working on this! Well, they're satisfied for now, so here I am again with a new installment of False Face. To respond to my reviewers:  
  
EvilSpirit: Glad you're enjoying, naturally. And I'll keep your Butler suggestion in mind; we'll see how things are going when Fowl & Company join the fun.  
  
TazMoon: Keep reading and I'll try to meet your needs when the time comes, k? Glad you like so far.  
  
alex: Like I said before, I don't know Trouble all that well, so he probably won't figure very largely in this fic, though I definitely agree on Artemis/Holly, that ain't happening here. Thanks a boatload on the pronunciation info, and keep reading!  
  
READ!!! From now on, stuff in italics will have *these* around them. I'm sick of capital letters. And forget the pointy parentheses, for some reason they don't seem to be uploading.  
  
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Chix Verbil wasn't sure, but he seriously doubted this was part of the job description of a sergeant. He'd pictured secret meetings, maybe first dibs on new weapons. So far in his new career, that hadn't been the case. In fact, he was starting to think nobody took him seriously in the LEP *at all*! It was a silly thought, he knew, but he just couldn't shake this entirely new insecurity he'd been feeling. He was careful not to show it, wouldn't want someone deciding he could use a psych evaluation, the paperwork alone could choke a dwarf, but that didn't stop him from wondering about it late at night...  
  
He knew babysitting a changeling wasn't what sergeants were supposed to do. He shot a glance at his prone charge, fighting the wave of repulsion he felt upon sight of the former-girl. Whoever glamoured her up in the first place wasn't too much of an expert at it, he thought, letting his gaze lie on Aldonza for the first time. Unlike his skin, which was a smooth spring grass green, her skin was quite noticeably mottled a pale jade and viridian all over her body. In Chix's opinion, the effect made her look like a rather sickly burn victim. At least her eyes are closed. They'll be human eyes, not People, stake my life on it. Human eyes in a sprite's face. The thought made his lame wing tingle as the other shuddered, and he turned away from Aldonza. Please, he silently prayed, Don't let her wake up on my shift.  
  
So enraptured was he by his fervent piety that Chix failed to notice said eyes flicker open, then wince at the bright light shining overhead. Aldonza tried not to move, not even breathe. She could sense another presence in the room, but that really was secondary to whatever was under her back. It felt like two rolled up kites. What they'd be doing beneath her she had no idea. Foolishly she tried to see what it was without turning her head, just peering as far as she could out of the corner of her eye. No luck, surprisingly enough. After trying the other corner, curiosity got the better of her, and she sat up and turned to see what she'd been lying on only to find clean white sheets. She frowned in confusion, and then took notice of Chix after hearing his sharp gasp.  
  
"Um, hi," she said with a small, if perplexed, smile, "I'm Aldonza- uh, what's your name?" Aldonza had been taught not to be rude to anyone just because they were a different color than she was. The examples given had been dark brown or tan, but she surmised that green probably fell under that heading too.  
  
The person(?) blinked rapidly, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Eventually he forced out, "Er, uh- H-HOLLY!" then fled the room through a door that automatically opened and closed. Aldonza frowned, her confusion deepening, His name's Holly? she wondered, Kinda weird. But her conscience pointed out that he obviously wasn't local, and that maybe where he came from that was a perfectly suitable boy's name.  
  
Left to her own devices, Aldonza climbed off of the gurney she'd been lying on and poked around the room. She decided whoever was the room's decorator probably didn't entertain much. She was reminded faintly of a backroom on one of those cop shows, where dogged boys in blue could come for a sit and a cup of coffee before hitting the mean streets once more. Although she didn't see much resembling a coffee machine on the counter that ran alongside the wall opposite the gurney until a door interrupted its path. The door had a symbol on it Aldonza couldn't translate, but her instincts said bathroom. The door Holly had took off through was to Aldonza's left if she sat on the gurney, and a squat table with Holly's vacated chair sat in the middle of the room like a toad just as weary as those who sat around it. Aldonza laid a hand on the table's pocked surface, only to freeze as her hand came into sight. She'd known her skin had changed, but she didn't know it was like *this*! Her hands were shaking as she held them before her eyes, taking in their new look. Her shock barely sank in when the door opened automatically and Holly reentered.  
  
Aldonza, tenaciously hanging on to her manners, said, "Oh, Holly, you're back!" with as close to a cheery smile as she could get. To the two officers entering the room, it more closely resembled a toothy, manic grimace.  
  
Chix paused, and the real Holly raised an eyebrow, "Oh!" he said as comprehension dawned, "Uh, no, I'm not Holly, uh, little girl. I'm Chix! *That's* Holly," he thrust a thumb in the senior officer's direction.  
  
"Yes," said Holly with an amused smile, "And we're all glad for that." She approached the thoroughly confused sprite, "My name is Captain Holly Short, of the LEPrecon team."  
  
Aldonza giggled slightly, "Leprechaun team?"  
  
"No," Holly replied, her voice stony, "Definitely *not* leprechaun. L meaning lower, e meaning elements, p meaning police. Recon being short for reconnaissance."  
  
"Oh, you're a cop. Sorry, my mistake."  
  
Holly gifted her with a forgiving smile, "A common one with Mud Pe-" She stopped, uncertain as to how to continue. It struck her that Aldonza wasn't a Mud Girl, never was. But she certainly wasn't People. What was she, then? Holly felt that that question would take years to answer. She didn't know how right she was.  
  
Trying to fill Holly's abrupt silence, Aldonza spoke quickly, "So, where am I exactly? My parents know where I am, right? Don't want them freaking out when they find out I'm not at the party..." She drifted off as she noticed a joint stiffening of Holly and Chix. "Where am I?"  
  
"You are in a holding station at LEP headquarters," Holly said, her voice thick with an emotion Aldonza couldn't fathom.  
  
"Did I do something wrong?"  
  
"No, someone else did."  
  
"What'd they do?" Aldonza asked as Holly guided her back to the gurney, "How am I involved?"  
  
The elf captain gathered her strength briefly before putting a hand on the sprite's arm and looking her in the eyes, "Aldonza, have you noticed anything strange happening lately? Like you don't look the same as you did before?"  
  
"Well, there is the fact that I'm green now, and I wasn't yesterday," Aldonza said, "That's definitely different."  
  
Holly smiled slightly, "Anything besides that?"  
  
Aldonza thought back. She recalled the early changes of her face and the lumps on her shoulder blades, but something made her feel like that wasn't quite what Holly was looking for. Her mind ran through her memories, closer and closer to the present; the near-miss car accident, the tree, the party... Then her mind fogged, she couldn't remember coming to the headquarters. She had no idea where her parents were. She turned worried eyes on Holly.  
  
"Think hard," was all Aldonza got from her.  
  
She did as instructed, and slowly the fog cleared and Aldonza was shocked by what she saw. She remembered the pain, the mist, the shrinking, Sunbeam's terrified eyes... "What's happened to me?" she whispered, her eyes wide with fear.  
  
"Aldonza, you're not human," Holly said with as much delicacy as she could, "You're one of the People, you always have been. You were exchanged at birth with a human child. A spell was put on you to make you look human, but it wore off. Now you're a sprite, like Chix." Behind her Chix shuffled uncomfortably. He'd been hoping she would leave him out of this, but now Aldonza was staring at him like he'd grown an extra ear on his forehead.  
  
"My parents- or whoever they are- they kind of believed in fairies." Aldonza's voice was so wooden it felt like each word dropped from her lips and clattered on the floor, "Not really, but they believed in that Mother Nature stuff. I did- do- too. Lemme guess what these are." She reached backwards over her shoulders and lifted her wings with shaking hands. She ran her fingers over them, feeling the incredible smoothness of the wings themselves and their bone structure. Putting her hands in her lap, she gave her new appendages an experimental flap. The resulting wind ruffled the gurney's sheets and her mottled face paled at the oddity of moving muscles she'd never had before. Then she looked back up at Holly and Chix, and smiled only with the barest hint of mirth, "Ha, I should've known," she said, reaching up and lightly touching one of Holly's ears, "Elves. What else could you be?"  
  
* ( * ( *  
  
Informing Aldonza of her true nature was actually the easiest thing Holly did that day. It turned out that while the rescue team had been topside, news of the changeling had somehow been leaked. The team hadn't gotten so much as ten feet below the surface before the media swarmed, and then all bets were off. Holly had never seen so much paparazzi. It was astounding; they'd overrun the hotshot station and were clamoring outside LEP HQ, a roiling sea of People with one goal: Get to the changeling girl. Once they got Aldonza inside, officers in riot gear had been forced to break up the mob. Rumor had it this was the largest media congregation for a single event since Artemis Fowl paid a visit. Sixteen arrests of news bloodhounds were made.  
  
Holly had secretly hoped Aldonza would stay unconscious until they could get her somewhere safer than an LEP break room. No such luck, apparently. The former-girl was fragile enough at the moment, Holly was *not* looking forward to exposing her to those bloodthirsty sharks, even if their numbers were lower than before. But the time seemed to have come. The sooner the better, really, Holly told herself as she and the rest of the team led a blanket-wrapped Aldonza out of the LEP building. Immediately camera flashes dazzled their eyes, shouts assaulted their ears. Aldonza seemed to shrink even more into the blanket, her terror vividly evident, even worse than Holly had feared. The team tightened, Neutrinos drawn, in a protective circle around the horrified sprite as they moved to the waiting LEP van.  
  
Once inside, the team heaved a communal sigh of relief, and Aldonza burst into tears.  
  
* ( * ( * ( * ( * ( * ( * ( * ( * ( *  
  
A/N: Man, I just realized how long it's really been since I read the AF books. I can barely remember a thing! I seriously doubt the People have cameras, but what DO they have?? NOTE TO ANY SERIOUS CANON FOLLOWERS: I'm gonna be taking quite a bit of liberty with People culture, mostly twisting it to fit my needs, that sort of thing. Stuff like that piss you off? Don't read, for both our sakes. 


End file.
